On April 9, 2020, the San Antonio Food Bank held a food distribution for those in need of food due to this pandemic.
The response was more than expected. There were 10,000 cars representing 50,000 people. We have a great Food Bank in our city, and they continue to service those in need, thanks to our community donors. The event of this day was described as a “mammoth, multicolored quilt from the air”. Here is a link to the article and photo of this distribution.
The color palette of all these vehicles was a surprising to me. I guess I am remembering that in my childhood, there was more of a range of colors in vehicles. Turquoise, yellow, green, brown, and lots of blue.
Here is are some questions for quilters:
If you were making a quilt to represent the story of this event, what would you do to keep this from looking like just another strip quilt?
How would you keep this abstract and still add the differentiation between the trucks, SUVS, and cars?
Any ideas and input would be appreciated.
My friends and I are thinking we might want to make a quilt wall hanging.
We have a few ideas, but are not satisfied with what we have so far.
Thank you.

Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.

Robert Frost

My students and I always enjoyed the month of April. Spring, National Poetry Month, and Poem in My Pocket Day…so much fun. All year, poetry played an important part in my curriculum, but April was a huge celebration month. We would present poetry readings and poetry jams that would have parents and family laughing, crying, and so impressed with their children and the poems they had written.
One of our activities was to make pockets out of paper, library card pockets, or felt. We would place our favorite poem, or a poem we had written in the pocket, and share the poem with others. This year, I made three pockets, one for each of my youngest grandchildren. I found a “vintage” Levi jacket that belonged to my husband. It was a jacket he purchased back in 1960, and he remembered it costing $5. I checked online, and the cost of the jacket in that year was $5. And now, it is considered vintage and if in good condition, could be worth a lot of money. However, this jacket only has sentimental value. The sleeves had been damaged and cut off. Some of the seams were coming apart. Why did I still have this jacket? Did I tell you I have somewhat of a hoarding gene? Anyway, I thought the two front pockets would be perfect for making two poem pockets, one for my 9 year old granddaughter and one for my 7 year old grandson. I used the same quilting fabric remnants as the backing for these two pockets. Then I cut some of the remaining front panel under the Levi pocket and used it to make a poem pocket for my one year old grandson. I added a clip on a loop so they can attach the pocket to their clothing. Or, maybe they can hang it in a place in their homes and the family can write poems to place in the pockets.
I wrote a limerick for each grandchild and placed it in their pocket in order to get them started.
I hope you carry a poem in your pocket this month.

My grandson will be celebrating a half-birthday in April. Yes. Half-birthdays are for real.
He loves to hear and dance to the ABC song played on his musical toys. He also likes to have the ABC books read to him.

For his 1 1/2 birthday, I made a personalized fabric alphabet book. My sister, Emma, helped me by making the book dummy. This dummy was so handy in getting my pages in the correct order. Emma is always such a great resource of ideas and helpful hints.

Some of the pages are appliques that I made, or fabric that I fussy cut. Some of the blocks are photos printed on fabric. B had to be for Batman, since my grandson’s room is decorated in this theme. He also loves his Ironman pillow character, so the letter “I” had to be for Ironman. I added pictures of him in his car, holding a quilt I made, and one of he and his sister. The letter “S” had to be for silly, because I had a photo of him wearing a disguise of glasses and a mustache. His dog also had to be included in this book. Personalizing this book was so much fun.

I did have problems with binding the book. My first plan did not work. I had used fusible batting for each signature. I thought I had left enough space for the book spine, but the signatures were too thick. The book was so bulky, that I could not sew it down the middle. I had to let this project sit for a few days, until I was hit with a solution for making the book spine. I ended up cutting the signatures in half. Then I attached two signatures with a muslin strip for the binding. This gave the extra space needed.
For his privacy, I have covered the face of my grandson in the video. The book will be sent in the mail to arrive in time for his half-birthday celebration.

A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order.
Jean-Luc Godard

The fat quarters I ordered for four of the blocks in the Meemaw quilt arrived this week. I was able to make the remaining blocks. Of course, I also had to make a Dairy Queen and Whataburger block. A blizzard is a must have for a quick pick-me-up on our trips. And Whataburger is the best place for a pit stop and a burger. The top and bottom of the quilt were easy to piece without any problem, because the size of the blocks and sashing fit perfectly. The length of the quilt top was a different matter. I knew I would have to add/subtract/squeeze the blocks and some sashing or extra pieces to the sides in order to have a perfect fit. Last night. instead of counting sheep to go to sleep, I was thinking of 1/4, 1/2, or 3/4 inches of fabric to fit the blocks along the sides. I woke up this morning with a plan…sort of… fingers crossed. After my coffee this morning, I went directly to my sewing room and started piecing. It worked out just right!
The Meemaw story is not over. Our story may have been put on hold for a bit because of Covid, but we are ready to go as soon as we can. This quilt reflects the beginning and middle of our story, totally out of order, busy, and in disarray, sort of like we are. I cannot wait until it is quilted and I can show it to the Meemaws.

The hawk is aerial brother of the wave which he sails over and surveys, those his perfect air-inflated wings answering to the elemental unfledged pinions of the sea. Henry David Thoreau

After a few grey days, the skies cleared and sunshine returned. Birds are everywhere! I awake each morning to the beautiful sound of birds perched on my neighbors backyard trees beside my bedroom window. Yesterday, I witnessed a bird nerd’s dream.
As I stepped out my front door, I could hear birds all around the neighborhood. It was louder than usual. I got my binoculars and was spotting mockingbirds, doves. and sparrows. Then, it went silent. They were gone. Suddenly, a hawk was diving through the sky high above our street, as if the street was an airport runway. It started to glide back up and circle above the houses. It was a beautiful sight to see this creature maneuver the winds as it flew around the area. Then it landed on the tree located on the front lawn of my neighbor across the street. As soon as it perched, the hawk began to call out. There is a berm and a railroad track behind the line of houses in front of mine. From over the berm, I could hear a hawk responding to the hawk on the tree branch. This second hawk soon appeared and circled around a few times before landing on the same tree branch as the hawk that had called him. By this time, I could barely contain my excitement. The second hawk scooted right next to the other and they remained together for about five minutes, before it took off again towards the berm. The original hawk stayed perched for another few minutes then it also headed toward the berm. I was able to get a photo of the first hawk by itself, and one with the two hawks together. I didn’t think of taking a video of them flying because I was just too excited watching them. I sort of had an idea as to what type of hawks these were, but I referred to my Birds of Texas Field Guide, by Stan Tekiela. I also sent photos to my friend, who is a master naturalist and who has taken courses on identifying birds. She also thinks these were red tailed hawks.
I just wanted to share this experience in hopes that it could make you smile.